Twelfth Night Flashcards
Key points
- Twelfth Night is a play by William Shakespeare, an English playwright.
- It is a fast-paced comedy with romantic plots, mistaken identities and practical jokes.
- It tells the story of a woman who disguises herself as a man and falls in love with her employer.
context on women
During Shakespeare’s lifetime, women did not have the same rights as men. Viola disguises herself as a man in order to get a job, because she fears she will not be employed as a woman.
themes
Love - different types of love, including romantic love and family love.
Ambition - the desire and determination to achieve something.
Appearance and reality - nothing is quite how it appears, there is confusion and mistaken identity.
Selfish love
Malvolio and Sir Andrew both want to marry Olivia, however, neither man seems to have genuine feelings for her. For example, Malvolio only wants to marry Olivia because he wants to increase his status.
Family love
There are several examples of family bonds and love. For example, Olivia is mourning the death of her brother and the twins, Sebastian and Viola, are devastated when they each fear that the other has drowned.
Romantic love
Viola (Cesario) represents genuine and faithful romantic love. She is in love with Orsino and suffers when she cannot be honest with him about her feelings. They get engaged at the end of the play.
Viola
Courageous - Viola is alone when she comes to Illyria, which would have been dangerous for a woman. She bravely disguises herself as a man to find work and protect herself.
Loyal - Viola is loyal to Orsino, and tries to encourage a relationship between him and Olivia even though she loves Orsino herself.
Passionate - She falls in love quickly and expresses her passionate love for Orsino in poetic language.
Genuine - She is genuine in her love for Orsino. Whereas Orsino and Olivia seem able to switch the focus of their love quickly, Viola remains true to her feelings throughout.
Orsino
Superficial - Orsino demonstrates a superficial understanding of love. The idea of being in a relationship is more important to him than the other person. He speaks about love in an exaggerated and dramatic way. He quickly forgets about his feelings for Olivia and proposes marriage to Viola at the end of the play.
Self-indulgent - Orsino feels sorry for himself, listening to sad songs after Olivia refuses to return his feelings. He soon forgets his feelings for Olivia when he learns of Viola’s true identity and proposes to her.
Olivia
Indecisive - Olivia has vowed to shut herself away from the world for seven years because she is mourning the death of her brother. She quickly changes her mind when she meets Cesario and falls in love with him.
Loving - Olivia is devastated by the death of her brother, and vows to mourn him for seven years. When she meets Cesario and falls in love with him, she follows her heart and tries to start a relationship.
Strong-minded - Olivia rejects Orsino even though he is a powerful man in Illyria. Instead, she actively pursues a relationship with the man she loves, Cesario. She even proposes marriage, which was unusual for a woman in Shakespeare’s time.
Malvolio
Serious - Malvolio speaks and behaves in a serious way. The faked letter encourages him to smile more.
Sober - Malvolio disapproves of drinking, singing and having fun. He believes it’s his duty to stop any frivolous behaviour in Olivia’s household.
Controlling - He tries to control the behaviour of the other characters and threatens them if they don’t obey.
Ambitious - Malvolio has a secret ambition to become Olivia’s husband. He believes he would have more power over the other servants in the household.
